This invention relates to vehicle-mounted equipment carriers, and more particularly to a stabilizing support for use with a vehicle-mounted equipment carrier.
Vehicle-mounted equipment carriers are commonly employed to support articles, such as bicycles, on a vehicle during transport. Such carriers are often mounted to the trunk of a vehicle or to a rearwardly extending trailer hitch affixed to the vehicle. A common carrier construction utilizes a trunk-mounted or hitch-mounted support structure, from which a pair of support bars or arms extend rearwardly. The support bars are adapted to engage the bicycle at spaced locations, such that the bicycle is suspended from the support bars. Typically, the support bars engage one of the frame members of the bicycle, such as the top tube or a down tube of the bicycle. Engagement members, in the form of support cradles or blocks, are engaged with the support bars and engage the bicycle tube. Resilient retainer straps are utilized to maintain engagement of the bicycle tube with the support blocks.
While the above construction provides satisfactory securement of a bicycle to a vehicle-mounted carrier, it is somewhat disadvantageous in that a majority of the weight of the bicycle is located below the point at which the bicycle is engaged with the support blocks. This can result in swinging of the bicycle about the tube from which the bicycle is suspended, which causes adjacent bicycles to contact each other during transport.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a stabilizing support arrangement for use in connection with a vehicle-mounted equipment carrier, which reduces the tendency of articles, such as bicycles, to swing during transport when secured to the carrier. It is a further object of the invention to provide such a support arrangement which provides a great deal of flexibility in enabling the support arrangement to be engaged with the article at a location which is vertically spaced from the primary points of engagement of the article with the carrier, to stabilize the article during transport. Yet another object of the invention is to provide such a stabilizing support arrangement which provides an open area within which a portion of the article is received, to facilitate engagement of the article with the support arrangement at a location spaced from the primary support locations. A still further object of the invention is to provide such a stabilizing support arrangement which is relatively simple in its components and construction, and which enables engagement with the article in a variety of positions and at a variety of locations.
The invention contemplates a stabilizing support for use in securing an article to a vehicle-mounted carrier having a load-carrying member, such as a support bar extending rearwardly from support structure such as a hitch-mounted rack or a trunk-mounted rack. The stabilizing support includes a first support section which is adapted for engagement with the load-carrying member, and a stabilizer section which is movably mounted relative to the support section. The support section includes support structure which is adapted for engagement with the article in a first location. Representatively, the support section may face upwardly so as to support at least a portion of the weight of the article. The stabilizer section includes structure defining an open area, and a portion of the article is adapted to be received within the open area at a location spaced vertically from the first location where the first support section engages the article. Engagement of the article within the open area of the stabilizer section functions to impart stability to the article so as to limit the article from swinging about the point at which the article is engaged with the first support section. The stabilizer section preferably includes a pair of legs between which the open area is defined.
The first support section and the stabilizer section include aligned passage structure within which the load-carrying member is received. The stabilizer section is pivotable relative to the first support section, and in one form is pivotably mounted to the first support section. In one form, the stabilizer section is pivotable about a pivot axis coincident with a longitudinal axis along which the load-carrying member extends.
The stabilizer section may be in the form of an H-shaped member, defining a connector portion located outwardly of the load-carrying member. A pair of mounting members extend inwardly from the connector section, and each mounting member includes an opening through which the load-carrying member extends for providing pivoting movement of the stabilizer section relative to the load-carrying member. In one form, the first support section includes a central mounting area located between the mounting members of the stabilizer section, defining a passage aligned with the mounting member openings for receiving the load-carrying member. The legs extend outwardly from the connector section, such that an open area is located outwardly of the connector section between the legs. The space between the outer ends of the legs defines an outwardly facing entrance to the open area between the legs, and enables various portions of the article to be received within the open area between the legs. In a preferred form, the legs define facing inner edges which converge together in an inward direction, to provide a narrowing of the open area between the legs in an outward-to-inward direction. In this manner, the legs can be engaged with various portions of the article, and the convergent inner edges of the legs provide engagement of the legs with the article when the stabilizer section is moved to a position in which a portion of the article is received between the legs. A resilient retainer strap is adapted to be placed about the article so as to retain the portion of the article within the open area between the legs. Representatively, the legs are configured such that various portions of the article can be received between the legs. For example, when a bicycle is supported by the load-carrying members by engagement with the top tube of the bicycle, various other portions of the bicycle such as the down tube, seat tube or bicycle tire can be positioned between the legs to stabilize the bicycle. The space between the legs allows the stabilizer section to receive and engage the article regardless of the position of the article relative to the load-carrying member. That is, the stabilizer section can be pivoted in either direction about the load-carrying member to position the article within the space between the legs.
Various other features, objects and advantages of the invention will be made apparent from the following description taken together with the drawings.